This has been a wet year on the East Coast, and that means more mosquitoes. More mosquitoes means more diseases that they transmit to horses and humans. The following is a report of recently confirmed EEE cases.
EEE in North Carolina
The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported five confirmed cases of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).
The first case was in a 4-year-old unvaccinated gelding in Brunswick County.
Three cases were confirmed in Columbus County in unvaccinated horses. One in a yearling colt, one in an 8-year-old gelding and one in a 15-year-old mare.
Durham County had one confirmed case in a 2-year-old unvaccinated horse.
EEE in New York
The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets reported two confirmed cases of EEE in unvaccinated horses.
In St. Lawrence County a 3-year-old Belgian mare had onset of clinical signs on August 2 that included circling, difficulty swallowing, dragging feet, fever, leaning, severe ataxia, decreased awareness of surroundings. The mare is now deceased.
In Jefferson County, a 10-year-old Belgian gelding had onset of clinical signs on August 1 that included being down, rapid eye movements, and intermittent seizures. The gelding was euthanized.
EEE in Michigan
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reported a confirmed case of EEE in Clare County. The 2-year-old filly had onset of clinical signs on Aug. 2 that included leaning, circling, head pressing and inability to rise. The filly is deceased.
EEE in South Carolina
The South Carolina State Veterinarian reported a case of EEE in Horry County. The 17-year-old Paint mare was unvaccinated and was euthanized. This was the fourth case of EEE in Horry County in South Carolina this year, which has had 8 cases in 2020.
EEE in Virginia
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reported a confirmed case of EEE in a weanling Quarter Horse filly in Isle of Wight County. She had onset of clinical signs on July 30 that included ataxia and hyperesthetic. The unvaccinated filly was confirmed with EEE on August 7 and was alive at the time of the report.
For a fact sheet on EEE go to this page on the AAEP website.
Information for this report was provided by the Equine Disease Communication Center.
